CPF Withdrawals when leaving Singapore or West Malaysia

We know that CPF contributions are mandatory for you if you are residing or working in Singapore or West Malaysia. We also know that there are very few instances wherein a complete withdrawal of the savings would be permitted and even then, a complete withdrawal may not always be an option. Of the few instances when a complete withdrawal is permitted, one is when you decide to leave Singapore or West Malaysia for good. Here is what you will need to know if you are planning on leaving the country.

Conditions for CPF withdrawals when leaving Singapore

The condition that would allow you to withdraw your CPF savings in this instance would be that you have or are planning to leave Singapore or West Malaysia with no intention of returning to the country. This would mean returning to live there or to seek employment in the country.

How to apply for CPF withdrawal

To be able to apply for a complete withdrawal of CPF savings on the grounds that you are leaving the country, you will need to follow these steps:

Download and fill up the application form. The form you need will be FORM CPF-LM which is available on the CPF website.

Gather all the supporting documents that you will need. A list of these has been mentioned below.

Collect the documents required for verification.

Once the form is filled and all the document are with you, you will have to send them to the CPF office on the following address:

Central Provident Fund Board

Withdrawal Schemes Department (WSD)

238B Thomson Road

#08-00 Tower B Novena Square

Singapore 307685

Documents required

There are two types of documents that you will need to submit. There will be those that are needed to support your application and are based on your citizenship status and the other set will be the documents that will be needed to verify the details you provide.

Here is a list of the documents that you will need to submit along with the application.

CPF Membership type

Documents needed

Members who are citizens of Singapore and are leaving the country

• Current passport

• Certificate of foreign citizenship if you don’t have a passport from the other country

• A valid identity card issued by the new country

• Confirmation of renouncing the citizenship of Singapore issued by the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority

Members who are Malaysians

• Valid and current Malaysian id card

• Proof of citizenship or permanent resident status in the other country

• An international passport with all relevant details like name, number, expiry date etc. visible

• A letter from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority confirming that you have renounced your permanent residence status in Singapore

Members who are not citizens of Singapore/Malaysia

• Certificate of foreign citizenship or a passport from another country

• The valid passport that you used during your stay in Singapore

• An identity card issued by the other country

• A letter from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority confirming that you have renounced your permanent residence status in Singapore

You will have to submit documents for the verification of details in the application form should you decide to send the application by mail and in cases where the information in the documents does not really match. The documents that you will have to submit are:

If your name on record is different from the one mentioned on your documents then you will have to also submit a deed poll or a marriage certificate or a certificate of name change.

The details of the companies that you have worked for including the duration for which you worked with each company.

If you have nominated someone for your CPF accounts then you will need to provide their name and the nature of your relationship with them.

The main thing to remember with these documents is that all of them will have to be attested by either a Notary Public of someone from the Singapore High Commission. Another thing to know about such CPF withdrawals is that if you are not going to send the documents in by mail, you can always visit the CPF Service Centres to get the process initiated.

What you get

When CPF investments are made, your contribution is split into various accounts and investments. When you submit your application for a complete withdrawal of CPF savings, here is what you can expect to get back.

CPF accounts: All the savings that have been built up in your ordinary, special or retirement accounts will be returned to you.

CPF Investment scheme: All the investment holdings in your investment accounts (CPFIS Ordinary Account and the CPFIS Special Account) will be released. This means that you will be free to dispose of them as and when you please.

CPF LIFE plan: In the case of the CPF LIFE plans you will get two choices. The first will be to discontinue the plan, in which case you will get all the unused premiums for the plan back. The second option would be to keep the plan active, which means that if you have a bank account with a Singapore bank you will get monthly pay-outs from the CPF LIFE plan the moment you become eligible. The pay-outs will also continue for the remainder of your life.

If your application is approved then you can expect to receive the payments due to you via the bank account, the details of which you provided in the application form. If the details pertain to an overseas bank, then you will be held responsible for any and all charges for the transactions. In the unlikely event that the details provided by you are not usable then CPF will issue you a cheque for the amount that is due to you.